


Out of Sync

by SeleneMoon



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bumi acts like an adult for Aang, Gen, He really tries not to be eccentric when Aang needs him, Lots of summarizing the show, Other, Platonic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, fluffy angst?, is that a tag?, the consequences of sleeping for 100 years, to get to the original scenes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25869829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeleneMoon/pseuds/SeleneMoon
Summary: Aang woke up in the future and found scars where his soulmarks were. But it's okay. Soulmates are like family but so arefriends. It's just... hard when his friends keep finding their soulmates. They never make him feel left out... but sometimes he can't help but feel alone.In which soulmates are like family (they aren't always the most important relationships in your life but you can't help but love 'em). Aang tries to ignore the trauma of being the last Air Nomad and the loss of his soulmates and all his friends. And the author summarizes the series between their original contributions a lot so that this fic will actually be completed.
Relationships: Aang & Bumi (Avatar), Aang & Katara (Avatar), Aang & Kuzon (Avatar), Aang & Sokka (Avatar), Aang & The Gaang (Avatar), Aang & Toph Beifong, Bumi & Kuzon (Avatar)
Comments: 59
Kudos: 199





	1. Distraction (the best way to deal with feelings)

Aang didn’t really believe that he was a century in the future when the two Water Tribe teens told him. But he went along with it. He could appreciate a prank and this was a pretty good one! They’d even gotten their village to go along with it. But a hundred years? That was crazy. He wasn’t going to fall for it.

It wasn’t until he was using the bathroom and pushed up his sleeve to wash his hands that he realized it wasn’t a joke.

His soulmarks were scarred over. All three of them were dead.

He threw up in the washbasin.

Kuzon was the first, and only, soulmate Aang met. He was funny and had a strong sense of duty and responsibility. He’d put off trips with Aang to help his family with the harvest. He stood up for kids who were being bullied. And when they came across the thieves after dragon eggs, he protected the eggs too; earning the soulmark on Aang’s wrist, a small painting of a golden egg cracked just enough for a slit pupil to peer out. His duty didn’t make him any less of an adrenaline addict, who once jumped off Appa on a bungee cord without warning. Kuzon got Aang into just as much trouble as Aang got him into. Aang rarely wrote to Kuzon simply because he went to see him so often. Kuzon wrote to Aang but the airbender usually had visited him between the time the firebender had sent the letter and Aang received it at the Southern Air Temple.

Aang would often abduct his soulmate to go on a trip somewhere. Though there was the occasional argument about whether Aang kidnapped him or he stowed away on Appa. Kuzon once told Aang that he probably would have never left his small village if they weren’t soulmates. Now he couldn’t imagine being confined. Aang had imparted on him a wanderlust that he was happy to share.

When the elders revealed that Aang was the Avatar Aang had instantly denied it. Gyatso was the previous Avatar’s soulmate. If Aang was the Avatar then he should have Gyatso’s soulmark also. The elders had been quick to disabuse him of this notion. The Avatar didn’t carry over soulmarks from a previous life except in legends and there was no time for childish stories.

“They must have made a mistake.” Aang insisted later.

“The only mistake they made was telling you too early.” Gyatso responded flatly.

“How do you know?!” Aang snapped. Gyatso paused and turned to him.

“Because I chose to mentor you before you were identified as the Avatar.” He answered. Aang blinked at him. He smiled gently. “I know your heart, Aang. We might not share a soulmark, but I can recognize my soulmate when I see him.” Aang’s eyes filled with tears and Gyatso gave him a hug. “It is hard. But you have me and you have Kuzon. You will find your other soulmates and they will be there for you too.” Aang clung to Gyatso and took solace in his steadfast presence.

It wasn’t until much later that Aang realized that Gyatso hadn’t mentioned _his_ other soulmate. Aang had seen his mentor’s soulmarks right between his collarbone and his shoulder. Two of them were scarred over. The last one, which were shaped like the islands that made up the Fire Nation on a map, was clear. Gyatso had another soulmate out there, which meant the previous Avatar had another soulmate too, right? Maybe they would help Aang also.

The worst part of being the Avatar was that he wasn’t allowed to see Kuzon. They told him the Fire Nation wasn’t safe, despite the fact that he’d been there just a week before they’d told him about being the Avatar. For first time, a letter reached Aang before he’d had a chance to see him. Then another and another, growing increasingly frantic. And Aang realized that his letters of explanation weren’t reaching Kuzon. The elders weren’t passing them on. Aang finally managed to convince them to let him visit Bumi, escorted by a dozen other monks and nuns.

Despite the elders’ prohibition, Aang told Bumi what had happened and begged him to get word to Kuzon. Bumi easily agreed. And even offered to help him ditch the Air Nomad guard and see him himself. Aang wanted to. But it wasn’t worth risking what little freedom he had. If they caught him, Aang wouldn’t even be able to travel the Earth Kingdom or South Pole, constrictive as it was, and he didn’t think he could handle being a prisoner in his own temple. At least now he had Gyatso and limited trips.

A month later, Aang heard the elders planned to take him from Gyatso. Aang couldn’t take it anymore. He ran. He took Appa and set out for Kuzon’s village.

He never got there.

Aang was in shock. So he did what he did best. He tried to look on the bright side, to have fun, and, most importantly, to ignore it. He entertained the kids, went penguin sledding with Katara, and explored the ancient Fire Nation ship. (Kuzon had thought about joining the Navy. Aang didn’t want him to and- don’t think about it!)

And when the new ship came crashing into the village, drawn by the flare _he’d_ set off, he did what Kuzon would do and took responsibility. He gave himself up for the sake of the Water Tribe. It wasn’t like he had anything left except for a brief friendship with Katara.

…Nope, he couldn’t go into a cage. He was wrong. He’d still had his freedom and that was something he couldn’t lose.

Katara and Sokka had come after him. It made the airbender feel less alone. He could make new friends. He just had to think about the future. Not the past. Not the myriad of ways Kuzon and his two, now forever nameless and faceless, other soulmates might have died in this violent new world. How everyone was gone. Nope. Focus on getting to the temple. There had to be _someone_ there.

There wasn’t.

Aang tried not to think about what that meant. He focused on sharing stories with Sokka and Katara. He had a lot of fun trouncing Sokka at airball. He knew that it wasn’t a fair game, but Sokka was doing it to cheer him up and it was working. Katara showed him a waterbending trick that Aang probably should have paid more attention to, since he could technically waterbend too. But he had more places to look. Maybe this part of the temple was just abandoned for now. Maybe there were people in other parts.

Aang introduced Katara and Sokka to the statue of Gyatso, reminiscing for a moment. It hadn’t sunk in yet that he must be gone, and he didn’t want it to. So he told them about Gyatso like he was still around. Then there was the vault that Aang was supposed to open when he was ‘old enough’. It’d been a hundred years. He was old enough now.

Aang opened the vault and was greeted by hundreds of statues of his past lives. He didn’t remember any of them. But he gravitated to the firebender statue. Avatar Roku. Gyatso’s soulmate.

Then a lemur scared the bejeezus out of them and Aang was on a wild chase to protect his new pet from the hungry Water Tribe boy. He laughed. It was fun. He knew he would easily outrun Sokka. This was his home turf and built for airbenders after all.

He followed the lemur into a storage area.

And then he saw them. The line of firebender armor, leading to a skeleton with a familiar pendant.

Gyasto.

Aang fell to his knees and began to cry. Sokka came in. “Aang, I wasn’t really going to eat the lemur, okay? Oh man… Come on, Aang. Everything will be alright. Let’s get out of here.” A hand touched his shoulder.

_Gyasto!_

Wind swirled around him. His grief manifested.

_GYASTO!_

“We’re your family now!” The words pierced his veil of pain and anguish. Slowly the feelings ebbed. He felt his feet touch the ground.

“Katara and I aren’t going to let anything happen to you. Promise.” A hand took his. For a moment, he felt like everything would be okay. The pain didn’t recede, but he felt comforted. He let himself fall into them. The arms, softened by the padding of a warm coat wrapped around him.

“If they found this temple, they found the others too.” He realized. “I really am the last airbender.” He didn’t know how to process it. If he thought about it too hard, he’d go back into that maelstrom of grief and might hurt his new family. He couldn’t let that happen. So he just closed his eyes and let himself be hugged.

They left with the new lemur in tow. Aang watched his home disappear behind them. Once it was completely out of sight he turned back to face forward. Determined not to think of it anymore. He had new adventures ahead with his new family. He’d deal with everything else later. Instead, he thought through his plan, all of the fun stops that they had on the way to the North Pole. Yeah… that was it. There were so many places to go and so many things to see and do.

He could be happy with that.

Hopping llamas, check. Riding elephant koi, next up!

Big scary monster! Aang raced straight back into Sokka where it was safe. Well… relatively safe since they were captured and tied up moments later.

Aang was enjoying Kyoshi Island. He’d never felt so welcome anywhere before. Even though Katara reminded them that it wasn’t safe to stay in one place for long, both she and her brother seemed as reluctant as he was to move on. Though he was a little bit put out that Katara seemed to be ignoring him in favor of watching the Kyoshi warriors and Sokka was actively training with them. Katara didn’t even try to stop him from riding the unagi, all of her attention focused on the girls training Sokka.

But then they had to flee the island. Prince Zuko had found them again. And he burned the village. Aang had left wreckage in his wake. He managed to put out the fires as he drew Zuko away. Katara hugged him in relief.

Katara and Sokka stared longingly as Kyoshi Island vanished in the distance. “So, uh… What was up with you guys and the Kyoshi Warriors anyway?” Aang asked. Not like he was jealous… but they were _his_ family, weren’t they? And for a second he thought Sokka was going to stay behind with them. Katara and Sokka exchanged a glance. Some kind of agreement passed between them. Katara removed her necklace and Sokka pulled off the bracer of the Kyoshi uniform he was wearing.

Soulmarks. Four graced Katara’s throat and Sokka’s forearm. One of them was a clear portrait of Kyoshi warrior’s striking red and white make up. Aang tried to turn Appa around.

“No!” Katara stopped him.

“She’ll still be there once we shake Zuko and get the two of you trained.” Sokka agreed.

“Whichever one she was.” Katara added.

“I still think it was Suki.” Sokka said. Katara rolled her eyes.

“Just because you have a crush on her doesn’t mean she’s our soulmate.”

“What? I do _not_ have a crush on Suki.” Sokka protested.

“Sure you don’t.” The siblings devolved into bickering. And Aang reluctantly set them back on course. He hoped he hadn’t cost them their one chance to get to know their soulmate. He rubbed his wrist, the scars feeling irritated and painful. He prayed they’d have another opportunity to get to know her.

Omashu. _Omashu._

“I used to visit my friend, Bumi, here all the time!” He says it like it doesn’t hurt. Like his mad genius best friend is still around.

Enjoy the slide. Cause a little chaos. Get caught… Maybe he should have remembered that he didn’t actually know how to earthbend and Bumi had.

There was a moment, just a moment, when they were brought to him that Aang thought he saw something like recognition in the king’s face. Then they were sentenced to a feast. The guards seemed as surprised as he was. Eccentric king… he could work with this, right?

Maybe not. He was outed as an airbender and the Avatar before they were even finished eating. He tried to play it off. But the king decided he would have to preform three tasks the next day, and took them to a room that was really much to nice to be called a prison cell. They decided to get some sleep. And when Aang woke up, his friends were gone. He had to suppress a moment of panic.

“Where are my friends?!” He demanded.

“The king will free them if you complete your challenges.” Something loosened in Aang’s chest. Okay. The king had just taken them. He hadn’t slept through their lives like Kuzon’s and Bumi’s. They were fine. He just had to complete the challenges.

With Katara and Sokka held hostage by creeping crystal he didn’t have a choice anyway.

He completed each and every challenge. Made a mistake underestimating the king. And improbably passed his tests. Then there was the final question. “What… is my name?”

Bumi was here. He was alive. And he was pranking him. As Aang hugged him, he started to tremble. Bumi recognized the signs. He released Katara and Sokka with a flick of his hand and hurriedly ordered siblings appropriate quarters and food, as he rushed his childhood friend to his rooms. By the time they arrived, Aang was sobbing. He could barely breathe as his loss slammed into him and he clung to the one person he had left.

“They’re all gone, Bumi.” Aang sobbed, barely coherent. He didn’t even know who he was talking about because _everyone was gone_. Except Bumi. Bumi was here. He was here, rubbing Aang’s back and badly humming a song Aang sang when they were children. A hundred years hadn’t improved his tone deafness, and for some reason that was comforting.

Swept up in his grief, Aang lost all sense of time. Eventually falling asleep in his oldest friend’s arms.

When he woke up his eyes were sore but that didn’t matter because Bumi was asleep in the chair beside him. The skin around the old man’s eyes were a little red and Aang wondered if he’d started crying too. Aang crawled out of the bed and curled up into Bumi’s side.

Eventually Bumi woke up with a gap toothed yawn. He blinked down at the boy. “Is Appa alright?” Aang smiled into the old man’s side. He’d always loved that bison.

“Yeah, we left him outside the city. Want to see him?”

“I’ve missed him too.” Bumi rested his gnarled hand on the back of Aang’s head protectively.

“I didn’t mean to vanish.” Aang whispered, voice raw from crying. “I was just trying to get to Kuzon.” Bumi’s arm tightened around him.

“We suspected as much.” He said. “Especially after Gyatso told us what the elders tried to do.” Tears dripped on top of Aang’s head, chilling his scalp. “We thought the Fire Nation had caught you and was keeping you locked up somewhere.” Anguish entered Bumi’s voice. “Keeping you alive to prevent you from being reborn.” His arms tightened around him. “We knew you were alive, but we couldn’t find you.” His mark had never scarred. Aang realized. Kuzon had lived his whole life without knowing. Aang thought he was out of tears. He wasn’t.

“I didn’t believe I was in the future until I saw the marks.” Bumi rubbed Aang’s head comfortingly. “They’re all scarred. I didn’t even get to meet two of them.” His voice cracked. “It isn’t fair.”

“No, it isn’t.” Bumi agreed. He hesitated. “Do you want to hear about them?” Aang jerked his head to stare up at him with wide red eyes.

“You knew them?” Bumi smiled, his eyes going vacant for a moment in memory before focusing on Aang again.

“Of course.” He chuckled. “Good people.”

“Tell me.” Aang begged. Bumi stood and took Aang’s hand.

“Come.” Aang stuck close to him, grateful for the wizened hand around his. He didn’t think he ever wanted to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really consider the summarization that I use here representative of my own writing style. But I had an idea. I wanted to build up to it, and I knew if I tried to carry it through the _entire series_ I would burn out and you would never see the end (which I think you'll like). So in advance, I'm letting you know. There will probably be a few time skips (most notably between Toph joining and Zuko joining). Basically the relationships remain the same except that they occasionally realize they've run into one of the group's soulmates and Aang has feelings about it. 
> 
> I don't have a release schedule for this one because frankly I have so many Avatar ideas right now my brain won't stop jumping between them to write. (Most of them Zuko-friendship related if I'm honest.) But I will do my best to update every one to two weeks. (But my brain is about as consistent as the original Bumi's and we are in a crisis so... We'll see!)


	2. How I met your soulmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aang learns how his soulmates met. Bumi tells a coherent story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having a character telling a story is really, really hard to write guys. I hope it worked! Also, there are some technically OCs here I guess??? They only show up as part of the story and just because I needed to give Aang some closure (not a lot of closure, but some closure). I don't plan on them appearing again, but you never know.

“Where to begin, where to begin,” Bumi muttered to himself. Sorting through his thoughts. He was clearly trying to be present for Aang instead of jumping around the stories in his own erratic tangent driven way. Aang appreciated the effort. “Kuzon and I got to the Southern Air Temple about two weeks after you’d gone.” Aang blinked at him. “You didn’t think Kuzon was gong to keep a little thing like the elders keep you apart, did you? Took a while for me to get to his town with tensions what they were but I wasn’t about to write him a letter naming the Avatar. That’d just be asking for trouble.” He grimaced. “We can’t travel as fast as Appa so it took time.” Aang laughed lightly. Walking was so absurdly slow compared to flying. “When we got there they tried to turn us away.” The king scowled. “They didn’t even tell us you were gone. Luckily Gyatso got to us and told us the truth. Guess they didn’t want it getting out that they’d lost the Avatar.” Bumi squeezed his hand, confirming he was real. “Gyatso remained at the Temple in case news of you came in. And Kuzon and I split up to look for you.” Bumi sighed, rubbing his face. “And we looked Aang. We searched everywhere.” Aang dropped his hand and hugged him, forcing them to stop walking.

“Thank you.” He whispered. Bumi stooped to hug him back engulfing him in his robes. He smelled like dust and cake.

“We missed you so much, Aang.” He said.

“I’m sorry.” Aang replied, muffed by his robes.

“It’s alright. You’re here now. You’re alive and you’re free. That’s what matters.” It didn’t seem that way to Aang. The Air Nomads were gone, his soulmates were dead, the world was at war, and Bumi and Kuzon had spent who knows how long trying to find him.

“Come.” Bumi pulled him along a corridor and stopped in front of a statue. His hand on Aang’s shoulder. “You know what happened to the Air Nomads.” Aang flinched. The hand turned into a half hug as they looked at the statue. It was a woman, she had long hair and mismatched armor. But the swords… Those had to be from the Fire Nation. “On the eve of the Genocide, a non-bending unit of the Fire Nation Army broke formation and set up camp a little bit too close to the Southern Air Temple.” Bumi began, gazing fondly at the statue. “Their commander had told them their orders before he was supposed to and approved the move. He also reported all members of his unit accounted for that night, and none of his soldiers contradicted him. Despite this, one soldier was gone. She was their fastest scout. And when the orders from the Fire Lord had been read, everyone looked at her. She knew what she was supposed to do.” Aang leaned into Bumi, hope filling his chest. “She reached the Temple in the dead of night and woke the monks and nuns.”

“She warned them?” Aang asked.

“She did.” Bumi nodded. “The children were evacuated as quickly as possible. But enough monks and nuns had to remain so that the Army wouldn’t suspect they had escaped and chase them.” Bumi swallowed.

“I found Gyatso at the Temple.” Aang said, a tear making a track down his cheek. “I already know.” Bumi rubbed tears from his own eyes with the hand not comforting Aang.

“A monk found her and told her that he had to remain or the Fire Nation would know that they were warned.” Bumi continued his story. “Ironically this was Gyatso, the one Air Nomad they had orders to capture and not kill.”

“What?” Aang looked up at him. “Why?” Bumi shrugged.

“We never found out.” He said. “Gyatso went down defending the Temple and the leader of the siege was severely… _disciplined_ as a result.” Bumi’s voice took on a nasty edge. “Can’t say I feel bad for him.” He cleared his throat. “Regardless, Gyatso gave the scout a map and asked her to bring it to me or Kuzon should she ever have the chance. She agreed and went back down the mountain, slipping into camp as if she’d never left. And according to her unit. She never did.”

“So, there might still be Air Nomads somewhere?” Aang asked, full of wonder and hope. Bumi nodded.

“I have no clue where they went, but there was never a report of a group that large and that young being discovered by the Fire Nation after the initial strike.” He said. Aang gave a shaky sigh of relief and smiled at the statue that had to be of the scout who had saved his people. “Her name was Ami, and she was your soulmate.” Aang’s head snapped up to gape at Bumi. He smiled down at him. “She was seven or eight years older than us. I’ll admit I had a bit of a crush on her when we eventually met.” Aang turned back to the statue of Ami the Scout in amazement. This was his soulmate. He pulled back his sleeve and looked down at the scars to identify which one she was. He could remember them clearly and even though the color was gone the general shapes remained. “This one.” Bumi touched the scar that had once been a black and green painting of mountains with a rust red path winding through it. Aang stroked it and looked up at the statue. He was so proud of her. They had never met and would never meet, but he was so happy to be her soulmate.

“She was amazing.” He said at last. “I owe her so much.” She had saved all of the kids he’d grown up with. The ones he’d taught the air scooter and would have died along with Gyatso.

“She’d tell you that you didn’t owe her anything, but she was a wonder. I’ll tell you more about her, but first, you have another soulmate to meet.” Bumi guided him down another corridor. “Kuzon didn’t really believe that you had been captured by the Fire Nation until the Genocide. Once that happened, he was sure they must have you. So, after years of the two of us turning up nothing, he joined the Army.” Aang gasped. Bumi shook his head mournfully. “I know, but he was so sure he’d find you and I was running out of ideas.” He glanced down at Aang. “He was never on the frontlines though. He volunteered for guard duty, hoping that would bring him closer to you. I didn’t hear much from him during that time. It was risky. We were technically at war. I didn’t want him to get accused of treason. So, most of this I didn’t hear about until later.” He drew in a shaky breath. Aang leaned into him and Bumi draped a protective arm over the twelve year old, grounding the both of them. “The Fire Nation had begun attacks on the Southern Water Tribe by that time.” He said. “And they started to capture waterbenders.” Aang swallowed. He knew how this story ended. With the small, decimated village in the South Pole and Katara, the lone surviving waterbender. “Kuzon accepted a position as one of the guards hoping that it would lead to you.” He shook his head. “But he underestimated his ability to work in those conditions.” Aang glanced at him, but Bumi seemed reluctant to elaborate. “One full moon night, one of the waterbenders, a young woman named Fana, managed to pull water from the air itself. She used it to free herself. But instead of running she found the water stores and set out to release the others.” His smile became fond as he slowed at another statue, the same style as the sculpture of Ami. “She managed to free everyone except for a little boy who was being held farther away from group. She told the others to run while she made her way to the child.” The waterbender had beads at each of her temples securing loops of hair that lead to the base of a high rope braid. She was in a stance and a stone whip of crystal, representing water, was out in front of her. “She ended up getting stuck in a bottleneck. Holding them off just barely, but she refused to back down until she reached the boy.”

“So Kuzon went and got him out while she was distracting them.” Aang guessed. Bumi chuckled.

“Right in one.” He said. “Like I said. He had been having trouble handling the treatment of the prisoners before all this. It was inevitable that he would join the escapees.” Aang smiled, proud of his soulmate. “While Kuzon was running he lobbed a fireball at the guards, giving Fana an opening. When she saw _he_ had the kid, she fell back too, and the three of them escaped together.” Bumi patted Fana’s shoulder absently as if she were real and not stone. “They realized that they were soulmates soon after, though not before Fana threatened Kuzon rather colorfully if he didn’t give her the child. Or so I’m led to understand by Kuzon’s version of the story and her denials of that story.” Aang laughed. He looked up at the statue. She looked strong and steadfast. From this story alone Aang knew he could have trusted her. If only he’d had the chance. He unconsciously fingered his wrist where the water whip reflecting a crescent moon used to be.

“I bet she and Kuzon got into all sorts of trouble.” He said. Bumi cackled.

“You have no idea.” Bumi led Aang away from the statue as he launched into a story about them having to masquerade as husband and wife, but Fana got mixed up and said they were siblings. Then when Kuzon tried to back her up she swapped back to married. And ultimately knocked out the guard she had flubbed to and hid him in a cupboard. “She was this strange combination of terrifyingly competent and just awkward enough to trip herself up.” Bumi gestured exasperatedly. Aang laughed. “You might giggle, but you don’t know the things we got up to!” Bumi protested. “Ami used to say that she was the only sane one among us!”

“How did Ami meet them?” Aang asked. “You said that she had a map for you and Kuzon?”

“Ah yes.” Bumi smirked. “I’ll never forget our introduction to Ami. You see… she was hunting them.” Aang’s jaw dropped.

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m really not. Ami was a tricky fighter. And, by the time Fana escaped prison with Kuzon, she was one of the people tasked with hunting down rogue benders.” Aang sensed that there was a lot that Bumi wasn’t saying about Ami between- what had happened at the Temple and hunting down Kuzon and their other soulmate, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to make his friend get off track. “She was assigned to hunt down the benders.” They walked along a hall spiraling upwards. “Kuzon had gotten word to me by then. It took a little work but I managed to arrange passage for the escaped waterbenders into the Earth Kingdom while Fana and Kuzon led their pursuers on a merry chase throughout the Fire Nation.” He huffed as if put upon. “Then it was just the two of them. They deny it but I think they were just having fun at that point because they kept missing rendezvouses with my people. I had to go get that stubborn pair myself. They went and made _me_ the responsible one!”

“You were the Kuzon.” Aang supplied helpfully.

“Exactly!” Bumi ranted. “Kuzon and Fana went and made me the Kuzon! How rude!” Aang smothered his laugh. “I am the _last_ person who should be the Kuzon, Aang!” The airbender couldn’t suppress his giggling. Bumi smiled fondly at the sound. Then he frowned. “Where was I again?”

“You went to get Kuzon and Fana in the Fire Nation.” Aang prompted.

“Right, right. And I _never_ let them forget it. Do you know how long I spent on that _boat_?!” Even now Bumi went vaguely green at the memory. “So I get there and what do you think I find?”

“Fana found a venomous hermit-cobra and Kuzon was telling her she couldn’t keep it.” Aang immediately guessed.

“This was Fana not you, Aang. Although she did try to keep that unagi… And Kuzon _was_ the one who had to put his foot down for that…” Bumi trailed off thoughtfully. “On second thought, good guess. But no.” Spirits, Aang wanted to hear that story. ~~No, he wanted to be there giving Kuzon lemur-puppy eyes right along side Fana with their new pet unagi wrecking chaos behind them.~~ “I found Fana and Kuzon when those two decided to _jump off a cliff_ to get away from Ami and the other bender hunters.” Aang dropped his face into his palm. He didn’t know how many times he reminded Kuzon that gravity _did_ affect him.

“He knew you were there, right?” He asked.

“Sure.” Bumi said, not bothering lie convincingly. Aang groaned. Bumi patted his head. “I caught them.” Aang leaned into him again. “They probably had a plan.” Bumi frowned. “Kuzon probably had a plan.” He revised. “Fana got reckless when she was cornered.”

“So you caught them.” Aang prompted again.

“I did. Caught them and brought them to the ground. Gentle as you please. They were in perfect condition for me to yell at them. Next thing you know there’s this crazy lady with her swords crossed at my neck.” Aang swallowed. “I thought we were in real trouble. The other hunters were making their way down the mountain, about to surround us. But then she heard my name and something changed. You know that ‘Kuzon’ was a pretty common name in the Fire Nation, so she’d never connected the map to her new quarry.” Bumi chuckled. “She threw one sword and a branch fell on one of the other hunters. Then she shoved me away, said she had something for me, and suggest I do some bending to get all of us out of this.”

“And you were in love.” Aang teased.

“A little bit.” Bumi grinned. “Fana and Kuzon didn’t trust her. She’d been chasing them across the islands, but I was willing to work with her. She was intense and with her help we escaped. We made our way back to the Earth Kingdom.”

“What was the map?” Aang asked. Bumi’s smile became sad.

“Places that the Air Nomads had searched for you without any luck.” Aang lost his smile. “It helped narrow things down.”

“You still looked for me…”

“Always, Aang.” Bumi said. “Not that it was all we did, mind you.” He smirked. “Omashu became our unofficial home base but we did plenty to protect our people, went on adventures, traveled… We lived our lives, Aang.” Aang tried to smile. Then jerked back as he bumped his head. The corridor led straight into a dead end with a low ceiling. “I took up sculpting.” Bumi continued, lifting his hand and the rock split opening on to a roof. Aang and Bumi stepped out and Aang realized it was the highest place in the city. “And we never forgot you.” He turned and found himself facing statues arranged in a joyous a scene. A stone Aang was holding a cake behind his back dancing away from a twelve year old Fana with a cake tin on her head wielding a crystal water whip, while Bumi, a child as Aang had known him, laughed hysterically. Ami, maybe nineteen, had her face planted in her hand though enough of her chin was visible to see a small smile, and there was Kuzon, egging them on though Aang honestly couldn’t tell which of them he was rooting for. “I had to guess a bit on Fana and Ami at those ages, but… I think it came out rather well.” Bumi said pensively.

Tears pricked Aang’s eyes, because it looked perfect. It was _perfect_. His heart was breaking, but he wouldn’t have given up seeing this for anything.

“Thank you, Bumi.” He whispered.

“Always, Aang.”

Aang wanted to stay in Omashu with Bumi. He nearly cried when Bumi told him he couldn’t.

“The Fire Nation is coming for Omashu.” He told the airbender. “As long as we can head them off we’ll be fine, but once they reach our gates. That’s it.” Aang opened his mouth to protest but Bumi cut him off. “Aang, I have spent the past century thinking you were a prisoner of the Fire Nation, and I refuse to put you at risk now that I know you are free.” Bumi wasn’t budging. He was as ~~sturdy~~ stubborn as his element.

Aang had to go.

Katara and Sokka were pleased with the money and supplies that Bumi provided them. The king hugged Appa who gave him an enthusiastic lick and introduced him to Flopsy. They got along surprisingly well.

Bumi offered Aang a few words of wisdom. In exchange, Aang demanded they ride together on the super slide at least one more time.

As Aang and his new friends flew away on Appa, the airbender looked back at his oldest friend.

The old man had a smile on his face even as tears streamed down his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things Bumi Didn’t Tell Aang:  
> \- Ami became a bender hunter, or more specifically an airbender hunter, because the monks and nuns at the Temple let her get the upper hand several times during the attack. (I think she actually killed a few of them to avoid suspicion.) And she gained a reputation.  
> o Coincidentally, most rumors of airbenders she investigated turned up nothing, just people talking… weird. 😉  
> \- The conditions the waterbenders were held in.  
> \- Bumi definitely went on a bit of a rampage when he found out what had happened to the airbenders. Very destructive. 
> 
> Unrelated things I couldn’t address:  
> \- The escape took place between Hama’s capture and her arrival at the prison.  
> \- Some of the waterbenders returned to the South Pole but some of them ended up in the swamp and kept their mouth shut about where they came from in case the swampbenders wanted to aid the South Pole and ended up revealing themselves to the Fire Nation. The ones who went to the South Pole were recaptured or killed. (Also, new waterbenders had to be born between Hama’s capture when Kanna was a young woman, and Katara’s birth, so the raids did have to continue.)  
> \- In the original draft, Fana actually was escorting waterbenders to the Northern Water Tribe for their own safety and ended up bringing Kanna down to the Southern Water Tribe because Kanna would happily take freedom over safety. But this doesn’t work with the Hama timeline since she actually knew Kanna before the raids began. 
> 
> Still not my favorite writing. But I'm just reminding myself that people will enjoy it especially once we get to the Zuko stuff. But I have to get through all of this before that. 
> 
> Also! What this chapter really represents to me is that you don't have to be soulmates to be equal in a relationship. Bumi was super-important to this entire group of soulmates. He was practically one of them. Not just because he was telling the story but because he WAS. 
> 
> And yes, there are statues of Aang and Kuzon in the palace also. 
> 
> Coming up... more on Katara and Sokka's soulmarks. Spirit world nonsense (maybe, still debating).


	3. Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara fiddles with her soulmarks. Aang is shown more evidence that he's family. And we are half way through the first book/season.

When they found the town subjugated by the Fire Nation, Aang wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t know if he should do anything. It’s not like he could stay and defend the town forever. Then their new earthbending friend was arrested. Fortunately, Katara had a plan. It actually sounded like something that his soulmates would have come up with based on Bumi’s stories about their hijinks. So, Aang distractedly, flipping between happy and sad, played with a butterfly and followed Katara’s lead.

She was incredibly inspiring and Aang felt his crush on her flaring up, which made him more than happy to leave Haru behind.

He wished he could have found her necklace. ~~He didn’t want to be reminded of soulmates.~~ It was so important to her.

Katara had been fussing with her soulmarks since she lost her necklace. Aang tried to ignore it but the skin on her throat was becoming more red and irritated as time passed. It was starting to look like she had a rash from poison oak-ivy.

“Stop that!” He caught her hand as she was reaching for her soulmarks again. Katara startled as if she hadn’t realized what she’d been doing and looked down at his hand encircling hers. Aang let go, blushing heavily, but continued. “Your neck looks really painful.” He explained. She blinked.

“Oh,” She flushed. “Yeah, I can’t resist touching them when they’re uncovered.” Aang frowned at her. He sometimes touched- used to touch his soulmarks (it was still disconcerting to feel scar tissue there) but never as obsessively as Katara was.

“It’s not just her being weird.” Sokka said, noticing Aang’s expression. He unwound his arm covering. “Come over here, and he’s right, Katara, cut it out!” He added. Katara’s hand aborted its journey up to her neck and she sheepishly tucked it into her lap. Aang jumped across and sat cross legged next to Sokka. He held out his bared arm to Aang. Aang’s eyes immediately found the mark missing on Katara’s throat, a blue swirl among grey swirls, like a tropical wave in a stormy ocean. He shoved down the spark of jealousy as he stared at the colorful soulmarks. “Touch them.” Aang pulled back at the unexpected order. Sokka steadied him with a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright.” He assured him.

“Those are personal!” Aang protested, feeling his blush return.

“And you’re family.” Sokka rolled his eyes. “Look, you don’t have to if it’s some Air Nomad taboo, but if it’s just the usual reasons, it’s fine.”

“We trust you, Aang.” Katara added. Aang looked between them, warmth overcoming him. He was being invited into something special. He’d never been on the outside of a soulbond and accepted like this before. It had been so casual for him and Kuzon to extend the same to Bumi a century ago. Had he felt as honored as Aang did now?

Aang hesitantly reached out and brushed Sokka’s soulmark for Katara with gentle fingertips. His eyes widened. “Weird, right?” Sokka said as he rubbed the soulmark more firmly. The soulmark was raised and the blue had a minutely different texture than the grey. “They’re all like that.” He moved Aang’s hand over to the Kyoshi make-up. The black, white, and red all had different textures also. “No one else in the tribe has soulmarks that feel like this.” Aang’s hadn’t been textured either. The skin over his soulmarks had been perfectly smooth.

Aang realized that he’d been stroking Sokka’s soulmarks for an awkward amount of time and immediately released him. Sokka, apparently unconcerned, replaced his covering. Aang understood the need now. If his soulmarks felt like that, he’d be fidgeting with them constantly too.

What Aang couldn’t stand was Katara messing with her soulmarks and making her throat redder and redder. So he took the line from Sokka’s reel (he’d never seen Sokka use it anyway) and started working on a new choker for her. Of course, this prompted Sokka grabbing his reel to catch a fish for the first time. Aang sheepishly revealed the choker and Sokka immediately forgave him. Katara looked _beautiful_ in the new choker (Aang had used an Air Nomad braid and a silk flower he’d learned how to make from Kuzon’s older sister). After that when she reached up she toyed with the thread and petals instead, which was a relief to all of them.

Aang had seen the aftermath of forest fires before. They were bad enough when it wasn’t intentional… When it wasn’t his fault. But Katara did what she always did. She helped him look forward and see that the forest would regrow, stronger and healthier on the remains of the old one.

He had hope again.

Aang was _not_ ready to deal with the spirit world!

Aang was terrified. Not of the monster, but that it was running off with Sokka. He had lost too much to lose him too. So he followed. And after he lost them he walked back to the village, his head lowered in shame. But Katara couldn’t see him. He was in the Spirit World! He still had a chance to find Sokka!

AAH! DRAGON!

Aang settled easily between Fang’s horns, as if he remembered. He became frustrated when it turned out that Fang had no interest in bringing him to his friend. They flew away from the forest and over the sea. Aang recognized the landscape below. The Fire Nation.

~~Kuzon.~~

~~Ami.~~

They headed for a Temple. After a few scares (that Aang suspected that Fang relished giving him) he learned that he had to be there, by _tomorrow_.

…NONE OF THIS HELPED WITH SOKKA!

Once Aang calmed the distraught spirit (Katara would have been better at this whole bridge between worlds thing given he was just parroting what she’d told him). His legs nearly gave out with relief when Sokka (and several villagers) emerged from the newly grown bamboo grove. Aang tried not to butt into Katara and Sokka’s moment by turning it into a group hug.

But the worst was yet to come. Aang had to get to the Fire Nation. And he had to do it by tomorrow.

He tried to leave them behind. Not because he wanted to but because he couldn’t stand the thought of putting the siblings in more danger than he already had. Appa wasn’t having it. Aang wondered if this was because he remembered what had happened the last time Aang had run away. Katara and Sokka caught him and they set off to the Fire Nation together.

The journey was treacherous but the destination turned out to be too. Fortunately, not all the Sages had forgot where their loyalty lay. Sage Shyu was a good man. And with his help (and Sokka and Katara’s brilliance) Aang made it just in time, despite Prince Zuko’s unexpected appearance.

Avatar Roku greeted Aang like an old friend. But instead of offering clarity or reassurance he delivered an ominous warning. He had to learn all of the elements before summer’s end or the war was lost. Aang had hoped for help. Someone who could guide him like Gyatso. Instead, he came away with only more pressure.

Roku used Aang’s body to manifest. It was an odd sensation. He had a vague sense of what the previous Avatar was thinking as he destroyed his own temple. All he was sure of was that Roku was as protective of Sokka and Katara as he was, and, for some reason Aang couldn’t comprehend, he had released Prince Zuko as swiftly as he did Aang’s family and ally.

Waterbending was a lot like airbending. He had the benefit of the mastery of one of the element. He was impressed by Katara’s ability given her lack of teaching. It was clear to him that she was a protégé in her own right, even though she would benefit from a master.

Aang didn’t exactly approve of Katara’s theft. But he understood it. More importantly, the scroll had the form for a water whip! Just like Fana’s scarred soulmark. Katara must have noticed his eyes light up because that was the first one she decided to try.

It didn’t go well.

Aang brushed his scar for luck and did the form. It was a little messy but he managed a passible water whip. So he tried to help Katara… she didn’t appreciate it.

Aang was getting a little sick of fighting pirates.

Aang loved the mismatched collection of Jet’s Freedom Fighters. The family they had collected around themselves despite the different soulmarks and backgrounds. He felt like he was part of a community again, like at the Temple, where everyone shared their food, drink… everything. Sokka was being suspicious, but no more than usual. He was the oldest and the oldest kid back at the Air Temples were almost always the most protective.

Aang respected Jet. He was like an older, more jaded Sokka, less of a sense of humor though. It was heart-wrenching to discover that respect was unfounded. Jet wasn’t a Sokka. He was a Zuko. Driven. Uncaring of who was harmed in order to achieve his goal. Katara’s faith was shattered.

Luckily, Sokka was able to repair it. He’d saved the town. Aang promised himself that he’d listen to the siblings better in the future. No lives were lost, but livelihoods were. The town was underwater, leaving its inhabitants refugees.

All because Aang and Katara hadn’t listened to Sokka…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I obviously made Aang give Katara his handmade choker earlier because of her soulmarks. 
> 
> Allowing someone to touch your soulmarks is a very intimate gesture and to the Air Nomads indicates that you care about them as much as your soulmates. (To the Water Tribe, where soulmates probably are on par with family it means that you are _trusted_ family.) 
> 
> Time/episode skips will happen next chapter. You have been warned!


	4. The Unexpected Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aang is captured and rescued... and tries to make another new friend.

Aang didn’t tell Katara about his soulmates. He told her about Gyatso, but didn’t mention that he’d been one of the previous Avatar’s soulmates. He told her about learning he was the Avatar and how he’d fled, but didn’t say a word about where he’d been going.

Katara had soulmates. He didn’t want her to feel guilty about that. So he shoved that grief to one side and focused on the guilt he felt about running away.

Then he rescued Sokka and the fisherman.

Katara and Sokka got sick. It reminded him of how Kuzon was when he first left his village, picking up every little thing until he was exposed to the larger world. Usually the local healers had remedies. If Aang was a little frantic, he thought he could be forgiven. Katara and Sokka were really the only people he had in the world with Bumi stuck ruling his city. He rushed to a healer, got a… suspect, prescription, and went in search of frozen frogs.

Then arrows started raining down on him.

Aang was chained in the middle of the room, displayed like some kind trophy. The metal cuffs were tight around his wrists and chaffed his scars. He strained against them. He looked up as the door opened and Zhao walked in. He scowled at the Fire Nation commander.

“The Avatar.” Zhao said, mockingly as he circled him. Aang glared as Zhao declared his time hiding was at an end.

“I’ve never hidden from you!” Aang shouted. “Untie me and I’ll fight you right now!”

“Uh, no.” Zhao smirked. “Tell me, how does it feel to be the only airbender left? Do you miss your people?” His words struck home. Aang missed them. He missed Gyatso and the other elders. The children he’d grown up with. (Even if they _had_ survived through Ami’s act of courage, they were long gone now.) He missed airball and passing other bison flying through the sky. “Oh, don’t worry.” Aang’s head snapped up with a fierce glare, his teeth clenched. “You won’t be killed like they were. See, if you die you’ll be reborn and the Fire Nation will have to begin its search for the Avatar all over again.” Dread mounted in Aang’s chest but did nothing to lessen his fury. “So, I’ll keep you alive… but just barely.” Zhao began walking away from him and Aang remembered what Zuko had done when Aang managed to restrain his arms for an instant. He took a deep breath and spat a concentrated blast of wind at the retreating man’s back, slamming him into the far wall. Zhao clambered to his feet. “Blow all the wind you want!” He snapped. “Your situation is futile.” He brushed himself off. “There is no escaping this fortress.” Aang’s eyes widened as the reality of his position truly started to sink in. “And no one is coming to rescue you.” Aang’s heart plummeted as Zhao slammed the door.

This was exactly what his soulmates had feared. This was exactly what Bumi had feared! They had spent their whole lives trying to rescue him from this exact fate. And with his soulmates dead, Bumi unaware, and Katara and Sokka sick, maybe dying, there truly was no one to rescue him.

NO! This was Bumi’s greatest fear, it was why he’d sent him away. This was what Kuzon, Fana, and Ami died thinking had happened to him. He’d be dishonoring all of them if he gave up now. He started pulling against his chains. He had to get out. He had to save his new family.

He didn’t know how long he struggled, but his wrists started hurting. His ankles too when he started trying to stomp in a vain attempt to earthbend and break the stone that the chains were anchored to. He tried changing positions, anything that might let him slip free. Just as he was giving up, he felt something in his shirt. Oh no! The frogs! They’d defrosted! Despite his pleas the frogs, still half frozen, began to hop away. They vanished under the door. Aang slumped. Then he looked up sharply. Something was happening out there. He could make out thuds and muted cries.

The door opened and someone in a mask with an eerily leering face slipped inside. Aang gaped at him. Then he screamed as the stranger drew a pair of swords and came right at him. But… he sliced through the chains and shackles easily.

Aang looked down and back up. “Who are you?” He asked. “What’s going on? Are you here to rescue me?” The intruder gestured for him to follow. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Aang followed him out, and was distracted by the frogs. The masked rescuer dragged him impatiently away even as Aang protested.

The rescuer was silent and fast. Aang stuck close to him. His relief at the rescue and fear at being caught again making him want to stay close to the swordsman. He clearly knew what he was doing. The alarm for their escape when up. And suddenly he and his new friend were fighting side by side. Aang almost left him behind once, and kicked himself as he grabbed a spear from an attacker and went back for him. The masked man was a much better fighter than Katara or Sokka. They helped him in a fight but this new ally was a true partner. Aang didn’t have to worry about him the way he did the Water Tribe siblings and he could have Aang’s back in a way that Katara and Sokka couldn’t (yet).

Then the jerk who had gloated over him shouted that they had to take him alive, and suddenly there were a pair of swords crossed at his throat.

Aang knew that he was doing this so they could get out, but it was still scary. He breathed shallowly as the gates opened, barely relaxing as his masked ally backed them out, nearly to freedom. Before they could reach the safety of the tree line, air rushed by Aang and he felt the swordsman fall, lax, to the ground behind him. He looked back. His eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of a familiar scar beneath the lacquered wood. Aang threw up a dust screen to cover them. He should just grab him and run. But that scar… he knelt and removed the mask.

Zuko…

He gasped, dropped the mask and started to run. _“She was hunting them.”_ Bumi’s voice echoed in his head. Aang stopped and looked back at the prince splayed across the ground. _“She’d been chasing them across the islands, but I was willing to work with her.”_ His scars itched. _“Her name was Ami, and she was your soulmate.”_

Before the dust had settled he grabbed his enem- fri- temporary ally, and ran.

Ami had hunted Kuzon and Fana. Aang remembered as he dragged Zuko through the woods as silently as he could. Bumi had been the one to extend the hand of friendship to her when even her unknowing soulmates had distrusted her. And Aang wasn’t dumb. He might have grown up in a time of relative peace, but he knew that war made things complicated. Ami had needed to hunt benders. Kuzon had needed to join the Fire Nation Army. Bumi had been forced to send Aang away. Maybe Zuko had a reason he was hunting him too.

Aang laid Zuko on a pile of leaves in a marginally defensible alcove under a pair of trees and perched on a trunk above him to think. Zuko had never been cruel. Not like Zhao. He’d never thrown the genocide of the Air Nomads in his face. He kept his word when he gave it. And, while he didn’t exactly avoid damage to villages, he had never actually harmed anyone who wasn’t fighting him either. Zuko had been taken aback when he saw Aang was a child. He hadn’t been expecting a child. Would he have accepted the mission to hunt him if he’d known? Aang just didn’t know that much about Zuko. But he did know that he wasn’t cruel and he’d saved him from a fate worse than any other he could think of.

When Aang noticed Zuko slowly waking up he began to speak. “You know what the worst part about being born over a hundred years ago is?” Aang didn’t wait for an answer as Zuko blinked at him blearily. “I miss all the friends I used to hang out with.” He stared at his wrist. The scarring painfully vivid on his pale skin. “Before the war started I used to always visit my friend Kuzon.” He smiled, bittersweet. “The two of us we’d get in and out of so much trouble together.” He rubbed the scars and he could feel Zuko’s eyes on them. “He was my soulmate. The only one I got to meet.” Aang looked down at Zuko hopefully. “And he was from the Fire Nation, just like you. If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends too?” In the pause that followed Aang watched pain and sympathy clash on his face as he stared at his scarred wrist, but the instant he looked away resolve hardened his features. Aang was already leaping into the air when the fireball came at him.

Sokka asked if he’d made any friends. Aang didn’t think he had… No matter how well they’d fought together or how long Zuko had hesitated. No. He hadn’t made any new friends…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this one was shorter because I am kind of debating the time skip. (Do I need Bato and the Northern Water Tribe? Or can I jump straight to Book 2 and Bumi and Toph?) Any thoughts? **Let me know!**
> 
> (I am going to do a really, really big skip between Toph joining and Zuko... joining... I don't love writing awkwardness so I kind of want to skip straight to the aftermath of Boiling Rock.) 
> 
> I told you from the beginning there would be time skips so I could actually get to the relevant parts! (Several of which take place post-Sozin's Comet.) 
> 
> Also, in this, Aang blasts air from his mouth the way that Zuko breaths fire, while we see Zuko breath fire by this point, Aang didn't, but I am going to act like he did because it reminded me of breath of fire.


	5. Lost Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The GAang loses a friend. Then Aang loses another friend. 
> 
> Aang catches a glimpse of something he's lost.
> 
> Aang realizes why soulmarks would be textured instead of smooth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Time skip!** Really the whole thing with Bato is the same as it would have been in the show. That was a pretty spot on series of events.

Aang wasn’t entirely clear on who ended up in the Spirit World. So he couldn’t deny the burst of hope he felt when he entered it. (Would Kuzon be there? Would he finally meet Fana and Ami? Would… would Gyatso be there?) But he was ultimately aided by Roku who directed him to Koh. (He wasn’t disappointed. He wasn’t.)

The journey to see Koh was unsettling, but actually meeting the spirit was far worse. They kept trying to startle a reaction out of him. The revelation that one of Aang’s past lives tried to kill Koh was unexpected (why hadn’t Roku warned him?). But then Aang asked why…

“Oh, it was something about stealing the face” Koh’s face morphed into someone beautiful. “of your soulmate.” Aang didn’t let his eyes widen. He didn’t let his jaw drop. He didn’t let his tears fall. His scars pulsed with his heartbeat, grounding him to the physical world as he stared into the unknown face of a long dead soulmate in the Spirit World. Koh circled him to whisper in his ear and Aang took the opportunity to close his eyes and take a deep breath.

He had to save the Northern Water Tribe.

Yue saved the Northern Water Tribe and the world. She did _his_ job and she lost her life in this world doing so.

Aang couldn’t stop letting his family down. Whether it was his soulmates wasting their lives searching for him or the family that had chosen to accept him. Sokka was weighed down by grief. Katara did her best to arrange their departure. She’d mastered waterbending while he’d goofed off. She’d teach him from now on, which meant it was time for them to move on.

He needed to learn earthbending.

Aang threw up in his mouth when he saw Omashu draped in red. Bumi had been right. The Fire Nation _had_ come for them.

He needed to get him out. He couldn’t leave Bumi sitting in prison anymore than Bumi could let Aang.

He didn’t understand why Bumi would do nothing as his city was invaded. When the leader of the resistance declared that fighting the Fire Nation was the only path to freedom and freedom was worth dying for. Aang panicked. These were Bumi’s people. He had to protect them if he could. Aang looked up and offered an alternative. “Or you could leave and live to fight another day.”

Sokka’s plan to fake a plague was a stroke of eccentric brilliance worthy of Bumi himself. But Aang wasn’t leaving Bumi behind.

Eventually he didn’t have a choice.

Aang’s heart soared when the baby presented them with the opportunity to save his friend. He _had_ to take it, trap or not.

Three girls Katara’s age were waiting for them. That was a little bit unexpected, but he was twelve and everyone was waiting for him to save the world, so maybe it wasn’t that weird. Bumi seemed more amused by the exchange than anything. Aang wasn’t sure if it was his usual flippancy or if he had something up his sleeve.

It was only after the girls went back on their deal and Aang revealed himself as the Avatar that Bumi’s demeanor changed. He seemed sad and exasperated as Aang escaped with him. Aang couldn’t make out most of what he was saying but he assumed it was stuff about how good it was to see him. Aang responded in kind with a grin.

But then the girl with the bizarre blue flames threw a powerful attack at them, no at _him_ , Bumi was protected by the metal coffin. Bumi’s face twitched and strained and a pillar of earth shot up to protect him and cut off their pursuer.

Aang was shocked. Bumi could earthbend this entire time?! Why didn’t he free himself?! Why did he surrender Omashu?!

Bumi explained the third form of _jing_ to him patiently. The need to wait and watch until the right moment to strike.

“But… you were supposed to teach me earthbending.” Aang whispered, tears pricking his eyes. Bumi’s eyes squeezed shut as if he was trying to keep in his own tears.

“I know, Aang.” He rasped. “It’s not fair. But…” He looked down at him, his wild eyes glistening despite himself. “Things haven’t be fair for… a very long time.” His voice broke. “I need to stay and wait for my moment to strike while they believe they have me subdued.” Aang’s throat was too tight to speak. He mutely nodded. Bumi had a responsibility in this war and it wasn’t to him. Bumi’s responsibilities tied him here more strongly than metal chains and a coffin. They’d have to part ways and pray that they’d meet again. All Bumi had to offer him was advice. “Your teacher will be someone who has mastered neutral _jing_. You need to find someone who waits and listens before striking.” Aang heard guards. He threw himself at the coffin and wrapped his arms around the cold metal. He heard movement inside and knew that Bumi wanted to return it. Then an earth pillar rouse around him and squeezed gently, the best he could do. “Goodbye, Aang.” He whispered. Earth fell around the airbender as he stepped back and met Bumi’s streaming eyes. “I'll see you when the time is right.” The coffin fell backwards and he was propelled up the chute and away.

Aang escaped the city. He had an earthbending teacher to find. One who had mastered neutral _jing_ , just like Bumi had.

The swamp was an eerie and beautiful place. He wondered what ~~Ku~~ ~~Gya~~ Bumi would have thought of it.

Aang was seeing his earthbending teacher. Which was great! But… the swamp was about time being an illusion. If time was an illusion…

Aang slipped away from the fire. Katara was distracted by the new bending style and Sokka was too busy trying to figure out what food was edible to notice. He stepped into the swamp and moved far enough away that he could only faintly hear the others. He stared desperately into the darkness, the trees alive with fauna.

“Please.” He begged. “Just let me see them?” Insects hummed and sang around him. Water moved sluggishly. Nature was all he could hear. Aang breathed deeply and tried to get in touch with the tree. Nothing. “Please.” His knees gave way and he sank into the mud and water. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to let his tears fall but he couldn’t stop them.

Someone hugged him. Aang stiffened. His breath caught. He recognized the smell, something smoky and dusty. The hand that cupped the back of his head was callused, bigger than he’d ever known it to be but… “Kuzon?” He whispered, not daring to open his eyes.

A new, slim hand patted his head awkwardly, then stumbled into him as if shoved. Kuzon(?) kept them steady and Aang could feel his chest shaking with silent laughter. It was a woman; she steadied herself on them and a splash to his left made Aang think that she had kicked water at the man hugging him. A final pair of hands coaxed him to his feet. He felt a knife scar on the right hand. They joined Kuzon hugging him. “Fana? Ami?” Aang trembled, leaning on the trio heavily. The first woman rested her head on his and he could feel hair loopies. The one with the knife scar squeezed his shoulders. “I wish you were here.” He whispered. His eyes still squeezed shut, terrified that he’d be alone once he opened them. Kuzon’s arms tightened until it hurt.

“Aang?!” Katara called in a panic. “Where are you?!”

His soulmates vanished. Aang fell into the mud. “No!” He gasped, eyes shooting open. Just as he’d feared. There was no one else there. He stared around. But the only sound were the swamp bugs and Katara’s increasingly frantic cries, which were shortly joined by Sokka. Aang buried his face in his hands.

By the time he responded, his face was so muddy that the Water Tribe siblings couldn’t even tell he’d been crying.

The Blind Bandit waited for the perfect time to strike. That was what Bumi had told him to look for. She was the same age as the girl from the- _don’t think about the swamp_. Aang had to talk to her at least. So when he had the opening with the challenge he took it.

“I don't really want to fight you. I want to talk to you.” He explained, stepping forward. The Blind Bandit turned, stomping her foot as she took a new stance.

As she did so, Aang got a good look at the bare foot. His eyes widened, leaping from the raised earth.

“Please, wait!” He cried with renewed urgency.

She didn’t. And while Aang defended himself with blasts of air, he accidentally sent her flying out of the ring.

Aang ignored the bag of gold to chase after her. “Please, listen! I need an earthbending teacher, and I think it's supposed to be you!”

“Whoever you are, just leave me alone.” She snapped, earthbending a door open and shut with a slam.

“Wait!” Aang ran and tried to open the passage, but he couldn’t. A frantic Aang joined Katara and Sokka, who was proudly displaying his new belt and hefting the sack of gold.

“That’s her!” He said. “That was my earthbending teacher.”

“Are you sure, Aang?” Katara seemed hesitant. “She seems-”

“I’m positive.” Aang answered.

“Why?” Sokka asked, clearly more interested in counting their newly acquired gold.

“She’s your soulmate.” Sokka dropped the sack sending the coins scattering in the street. “She’s got two soulmarks on each foot.” He said. “I think she’s the badgermole.” Katara’s hand went up to the right of her pendant, where the simple black ink painting of a badgermole sat, raised and textured like all of the others. Textured in a way that a blind girl could feel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Why Omashu Surrendered.](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastAirbender/comments/6joo3a/atla_b1_b2_the_real_reason_omashu_surrendered/) Pretty compelling. Basically, Omashu is not set up for a siege. Unlike Ba Sing Se, which had agricultural areas, Omashu appears to depend entirely on imported food. Which meant that they could easily have been starved out. Defeat was inevitable and surrender cost fewer lives.
> 
> The fact that "Time is an illusion" in the swamp and Aang didn't try to take advantage of that is _absurd_. He has lost EVERYONE. And we are seriously supposed to believe he's content with a glimpse of the future instead of the past?! 
> 
> Also, the swamp has never made sense to me. On the one hand we have Aang, who saw the future moderately accurately. On the other we have Sokka who's vision of Yue accused him of failing to protect her, which is _not_ something I think Yue would do. I feel like it would make sense if it saw people as you _perceived_ them. But then how do we explain Aang seeing Toph? 
> 
> Not to hijack the chapter so skip for bummer, but this month has been kind of unbelievable. The first week my mom broke her leg. The second my sister broke her wrist. And today my dad's dog (my childhood dog) died. It's been brutal, and I kinda think I'm in a little bit of denial.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really consider the summarization that I use here representative of my own writing style. But I had an idea. I wanted to build up to it, and I knew if I tried to carry it through the _entire series_ I would burn out and you would never see the end (which I think you'll like). So in advance, I'm letting you know. There will probably be a few time skips (most notably between Toph joining and Zuko joining). Basically the relationships remain the same except that they occasionally realize they've run into one of the group's soulmates and Aang has feelings about it. 
> 
> I don't have a release schedule for this one because frankly I have so many Avatar ideas right now my brain won't stop jumping between them to write. (Most of them Zuko-friendship related if I'm honest.) But I will do my best to update every one to two weeks. (But my brain is about as consistent as the original Bumi's and we are in a crisis so... We'll see!)


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